How to Grow Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Peppers

Intro: How to Grow Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Peppers

Are you ready to grow some seriously hot peppers? How about a batch of Trinidad Moruga Scorpion peppers? In 2012, the Guinness book of World Records officially named the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Pepper as the world’s hottest pepper!

Exactly how hot is the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion pepper? To put the pepper’s extreme hotness into perspective, its rating on the Scoville Heat Scale can be compared with other common peppers. A Jalapeno pepper, which many of us have sampled, rates between 3,500-8,000 Scoville heat units. Habanero chilies, which are significantly hotter than Jalapenos, have a ranking between 100,000-350,000 Scoville heat units. The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion pepper, however, has a Scoville heat ranking of between 1,500,000-2,000,000 plus units! 2,000,000 Scoville units is the equivalent of military-grade pepper spray! Damn that’s one hot pepper!

This is a fun and exciting project that practically anyone can do! It's as simple as planting, watering, and harvesting! Additionally, this is an inexpensive project to undertake. The required seeds are available online for approximately $5 and the remaining equipment can be easily obtained from local stores.

The following steps will guide you in an intuitive fashion through the four phases of this project: germinating the seeds, planting the seeds, plant growth, and harvesting.


WARNING!!! I am not kidding when I say that these peppers and their seeds are hot! It is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO WEAR LATEX GLOVES WHEN HANDELING THE SEEDS OR THE PEPPERS. If your skin comes into contact with any part of the plant or its fruit, WASH AREA EXCESSIVELY WITH SOAP!

STEP 1: Supplies Needed

1. Small (approximately 12Oz) Styrofoam cup.
2. Potting soil.
3. Paper towel.
4. Plastic container.
5. Trinidad Moruga Scorpion pepper seeds.
6. Latex gloves

STEP 2: Germinating the Seeds

WARNING! WEAR LATEX GLOVES WHEN HANDELING THE SEEDS!

1. Cut or fold a paper towel so that it fits in the bottom of the plastic container.

2. Place the seed(s) on the surface of the paper towel that lines the bottom of the plastic container.

3. Place a second paper towel cutout over the seed(s) so that the seed(s) are in between the two paper towels.

4. Add just enough water to the paper towels in the plastic container so that the towels are thoroughly damp. Do not add enough water to allow for standing water (not absorbed by the paper towels) in the bottom of the plastic container.

5. Place the plastic dish on a window seal or similar location. You want the container to receive ample sunlight to allow for successful seed germination. Additionally, ensure that the container remains in an environment with temperatures between 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. It is important to check on the seed(s) throughout the day to ensure that the paper towels are saturated with water. If the seed(s) are not between wet paper towels, they will dry out and germination will not occur. Thus, check the plastic container a few times a day, ensuring that the towels are damp.

7. The seeds will start to sprout after approximately 1-3 weeks of being soaked between the paper towels.

8. Once the seeds have sprouted, you are ready for the next step: planting!

STEP 3: Planting the Seeds

WARNING! WEAR LATEX GLOVES WHEN HANDELING THE SEEDS!

1. Prepare the growing containers by filling the Styrofoam cups with potting soil. The cups should be filled so that there is about a half inch of remaining space at the top of the cup.

2. Using a pencil or similar object, poke a hole in the dirt in the center of the cup that extends down about a half inch.

3. Gently place the sprouting seed in the hole, making sure that the direction of the sprout (the root) is facing downward.

4. Cover the sprout lightly with dirt, and add enough water to dampen the soil.

STEP 4: Plant Growth

1. You should expect to see the seed sprout from the soil within one to two weeks’ time. Be sure to check the plant regularly and keep the soil moist (but not flooded).

2. Keep the plant inside, because the minimum growing temperature is 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion grows best at temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Place the plant on a window seal. The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion pepper plant requires at least six hours of direct sunlight per day (more is ideal – up to 12 hours of sunlight per day).

4. The plant will reach maturity and begin producing fruit in approximately two to three months.

STEP 5: Harvesting the Peppers

WARNING! This is a reminder to ALWAYS WEAR LATEX GLOVES WHEN HANDELING THE SEEDS OR PEPPERS!

1. Once the plant is fully grown, it will produce Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Peppers. These peppers are ready to be harvested when they turn completely red.

2. Once the peppers are ready to harvest, use a pair of scissors to cut the stem of the pepper.

3. Enjoy!

Comments

[Hotones]

Can these seeds be sprouted using soil in a cup instead of paper towel? And can they be grown indoors during the winter and produce fruit?

[Travelpen]

I planted my tms about 1 year ago. It grows flowers, but then they drop off because their base is not thick enough. I have tried everything! I live in Sweden, and grew it indoors. It is so huge put no peppers will form.

[vinodm11]

This could be due to lack of pollination of the flowers, you could artificially pollinate the flowers using a soft paint brush rub it on the flower inside and rub it to all flowers.

[vinodm11]

Others
Lack of airflow ,
over watering : they say they should let the chili plant just to dry before watering
Unstable temp : diff of day and night

Over fertilizer can also cause flower drop

I too love in Sweden and have got my chili to grow well and a thick stem. I always watered them when I saw them almost fry it leaves a bit down. Only used natural fertilizer during planting not after that
Keep it indoor in cold Sweden months with grow light

[BrianP261]

I just planted some TMS seed (for the third time). They germinated and produced their first set of true leaves. They then proceed to wither and die. This happens every time I try to grow these. Weather is in the mid 80's and where I have them they get about 3 hours direct sun daily. I keep the soil moist also. Once I did let the soil get dry but not for long. What do I need to do?

[jjiménez20]

So this is what Rumsfeld was talking about when he was motormouthing about the danger of WMD's?

[jwarner75]

Scorpion, Carolina Reaper and Ghost peppers are Perennials. If you prune them back when it's getting cold, Add some mulch and add a Foam dome over it during the winter, uncover after last frost, leaves will start to grow back. or you can Dig up, put in a 5 Gallon pot and grow in the house, keep a Radius of around 3 Feet, Keeping it Pruned all the time, you'll end up with Fruit all year around and LOTS of it.

[SeanD15]

I am growing Trinidad scorpions, but I have a question. The plant has started producing peppers some are of a decent size. However some are dark green, others are a light green/yellow. How long til they are ripe?

[jwarner75]

They don't have to be Red before you can pick them. You can eat them while they are green also, They will have a little less heat to them then when they are fully ripe but not by much.

Jalapeno's are generally Red, but mostly picked when they are green. Can do the same with pretty much any veggie, but will have a little different flavor.

[GlennS83]

When they get a solid red color they are ready for harvest

[sherry j]

I planted my peppers from seed in February. Transplanted them to the garden. I have 5 nice full plants about 2 1/2 feet tall. It has been blooming for almost 2 months but I am yet to have any fruit. Summers here at high 90's, they have been kept moist and are very healthy. What am I doing wrong and how can I fix it?

[Ty Yocum]

You aren't doing anything wrong. Harvest is late it the year, starting in August or later. It all has to do with the hours of the sun.dont worry your plants will flower by September or October for sure! Harvest is usually October. That's when all your fruits should finish. It's a pepper though, cut off your fruits, new ones will come back. This happens until the sun light changes. Then no more fruits til next year. Enjoy!

[GlennS83]

Actually once your trindad plant goes to blooms its generally 1-4 more weeks to start actually producing the pepper sometimes up to 2months from time of bloom.

[GlennS83]

Oh also make sure you fertilize once a month RoseGlo fertilizer is AWESOME for most plants n veggies n citrus trees.i swear by it. It is also organic

[GlennS83]

I work in a nursery/garden center and am an avid grower of many vegetables herbs n peppers including trinidads myself. One thing that may be your problem if your plant is producing good healthy foliage but not bearing peppers is "Pollination" Pollination is very key to growing peppers along with any other vegetable that has blooms on the plan. if your area attracts bees....natural pollination is the BEST method for this n bees are great pollinators. if you do not attract bees simply look up manual hand pollination of plants. hope this helps.

[JonathanM95]

I have not grown the TS, but have cultivated the hybrid of the Caribbean Red Habanero and, the Ghost Pepper, also called the Naga Viper. It's offspring is the Carolina Reaper, currently the hottest pepper in the world. My plants started off very slowly, and they were like 2 inches high when purchased. It took over 90 days to produce from flower to harvest in a 2 gallon pot, for bringing inside when the freeze occurs. I was not a faithful waterer, nor did I feed the plants with soluble fertilizers. This failure to feed led to a high yield of very small peppers that were still phenomenally hot, and firm. Others that set them out in the ground used cow manure to line the hole and they got 5' plants and so many peppers that they had to dry them and store them as powder which works fantastically. If your plants are slow to produce that is to be expected, as it's yield cycle is long. Some up to a solid 4 months. Just keep the plants fed and watered, use a rich manure mix in at least a 50 mix of well draining sandy soil and humus, keep in full sun, and water 3 times a week.

[PlantDoc67]

My UPDATE. So far so good. It was not as hard as I thought but certainly requires attention. Albeit, I have a tendency to over-DO. I have one that sprouted to about 12", a tomato a lil bigger, and a helichrysum flower of some sort. My wife is going crazy. As far as germination goes you can use a paper towel or MG organic choice soil. The most important thing is to keep that soil warm. Use the heating pad until they pop up nice for you. After that my fluorescent light has provided enough warmth. If the sun is out I try to pull a few out to catch as many rays as they can.. I alternate. Again, I am in north east Pa. My germination using the soil and heating pad was never longer than 11 days with most popping through in 9. My seeds were hand selected from last years grow via my neighbor and all around great guy, Eddie pepper. That group in the plastic container were some of the lesser of the seeds and they are now some of the strongest plants I have. I iwll take and post more pics asap. Pease.

[jmiers1]

DO NOT EAT THIS PEPPER. IT CAN KILL YOU.

[JesusM128]

lol i have this pepper i have many

they are brutally great

[Ty Yocum]

That is a lie!!!! I eat them daily! The violent burn last about 20 min.